Anyway
by Sachiie
Summary: Two lost souls seeking refuge by means of drugs, alcohol and sex (YuffiexReno)
1. Default Chapter

_Disclaimer:  Final Fantasy VII is copyrighted to Squaresoft _

If you don't like fics with drugs, don't read it.  Simply as that.

_So here we are, stuck in Hell_

_Same old game, we know it well_

_I don't mind_

_Anyway_

_Spark it up and numb me on and off again_

_Oh, what the Hell_

_I don't mind_

_Anyway..._

Dynamite Hack – 'Anyway'

                                                                                ~~~

Dull, brown eyes stared out uninterestingly at the setting sun.  It symbolised the end of the day which had dragged on and on and on.  Evening would soon turn into night which would turn into meaningless love, influenced by the Lifestream and the earth.  The same old routine, over and over again.  Why would today be any different?  Unless the sleazy hotel they were currently boarding at mysteriously exploded, nothing would change.  Nothing would erase the past and the terrible yet thrilling memories which went with it.  Nothing.  

With a barely detectable sigh, the owner of the lifeless brown eyes turned around to regard the scarlet headed peacock sprawled out on the dingy mattress of the endlessly squeaky double-bed they were to share for the next week.  Marine eyes flashed and the air was suddenly drowning in unbearable screeches and groans coming from the monster they slept on as a pale, scar-ridden torso lurched upwards.  Reno hadn't changed much in the past year, expect maybe to boast about a few more scars he had added to his collection.  A smile was sent to the girl.  Whether it was pleasant or not was debatable.   

Words were not needed to communicate what the chocolatey eyes lusted for.

Thin, tapered digits quickly assembled a small paper tube full of fine magic powder; the powder needed to forget about all the fears and horrors of everyday life.  The magic powder was the key to the other world.  This other world was Plato's world of the Forms.  Everyone and everything was perfect, all swirling about as different colours and different textures.  It was tingling and electric and so over-whelming you sometimes thought you would die from the experience, but you didn't.  And when the real world began absorbing the pretty colours and the pretty lights and the beautiful voices, sometimes you wish you **had** died, just so you didn't have to face reality again.

Trembling fingers reached out and snatched the thin cardboard tube on offer, unable to be patient any longer.  Reno regarded the scrawny girl who was lifting the tube up to her shaking lips.  He indulged in another smile, liking the way her eyelids drooped down over her brown eyes as she took her first puff on the tube of magic.  His imagination was wild and he could imagine her closing her eyes in a very different situation.

This wasn't, however, her first experience with hash.  

The redhead cast his mind back seven months ago.  It was November and it was fucking freezing.  He had been wandering around the dingy alleys of Junon, looking for a cheap and suitable prostitute for the night.  There wasn't much left for the Turks after Shinra had been destroyed two years prior.  Nothing but sex, drugs, alcohol and more sex.  

Unable to find a whore who didn't stink of decaying flesh, the lanky man contended himself with the bottle of vodka he had taken along with him for the ride.  Things always seemed better when he was drunk.  As he began swigging the bitter spirit down as if it were water, he heard a whimper.  Lowering the bottle, he looked around the deserted alley he had stumbled down, curious.  He was by no means a saint, but if someone were in distress, he would do his best to save them.  Especially if they were wealthy or beautiful.  

He caught the whimper again, this time accompanied by a few sniffs.  Maybe it was a child who had been abandoned down here by a cold and careless slut.  Reno shuddered at the thought, thanking God that his mother, despite being a drunkard and a drug addict, hadn't abandoned him in some cold, lonely street.  

As he advanced slowly down the alley, the whimpers turned into a gasp of fear and some shuffling was heard.  No doubt it **was** a small child who thought some evil monster was going to rip it to sheds.

_The brat ain't far from it._

"S'okay, kid," he said as softly as he could, vaguely wondering if the said kid could understand his slurred speech.  "I ain't gonna hurt ya.  Promise."  

Behind a stack of rotten wooden boxes was a small face covered in dirt, peering up at him.  The only clean thing about the face was the tell-tale lines running down the grimy cheeks.  The child had been crying.  Reno was reminded of snail trails, glistening in the sun.

Kneeling down, he made soothing noises of encouragement.  "See?  It's okay, I'll protect ya.  Who's been beating on you?"  His brilliant marine eyes travelled to the child's forehead.  It was splattered with brick-red crust.  The ex-Turk grimaced, knowing that it was probably the kid's own blood.  He smiled encouragingly when the small face moved upwards, revealing a set of quivering pink lips which were going to tell him what he wanted to know soon, no doubt.

"R-Reno?"  

The gangling man blinked rapidly.  The child – obviously female and perhaps older than he gave her credit for – knew him.  How she knew him was a mystery to him.  Thoughts flashed through his brain as he frowned and stared at the demoted creature before him – maybe she recognised the legendary Turk from days past?  Or maybe she was – no, that was ridiculous.  She wasn't his child; she wasn't young enough to be his child.    
  
As thoughts churned around inside his brain, the girl sat up and removed the hole-ridden blanket she had previously been hiding under.  She pushed herself up, using the crates for help, to reveal a horribly skinny female wearing a pair of ripped white shorts and a stained green jumper. She was more than just a girl, she was…

"_Yuffie_!?"  Reno sat back on his heels, and stared.


	2. Chapter two

Disclaimer:  _Both Reno and Yuffie belong to Squaresoft, unfortunately, but the plot is vaguely original.  I think._

And that's how it all started.  With no where else to go due to her father kicking her out of home, Yuffie had welcomed the shelter of her old enemy with open arms and, as Elena found out in her early Turk days, had fallen into the deep but brightly coloured pit of drugs and alcohol.

Determined not to let the brat follow the same path as him, Reno had done his best to quickly give up the drugs and the drink. This, however, only lasted for a few weeks – he soon had to creep out in the dead of night and lock himself in the dank bathroom they shared to inject himself with various things.  He couldn't resist the alcohol, either, especially after Yuffie had brought home some rum in celebration.  Reno didn't know that she drank, and was filled with pity when he saw the skinny girl gulp down the hard liquor as if it were fruit juice.  

He remembered when he had first introduced her to the floaty feathers.  

Rude had payed him a visit for the first time in several months and had invited Reno down to the local pub with him so they could "catch up".  Not wishing to intrude on Reno's personal life, Yuffie had hidden away in the bedroom they shared, knowing that there was a possibility that Rude hadn't forgotten what AVALANCHE had done to Shin-Ra and the Turks.  A few hours later had brought Reno home completely drunk and so consequently didn't know what he was doing when he handed the fragile ninja a sweet laced with drugs and then proceeded to screw her while she was out of it.  He had woken up the next morning to the noises of vomiting and sobbing.  Reno had never felt like such a monster in his whole entire life.  

From there it had just gone downhill.  Yuffie was hooked on the drugs and hooked on Reno.  She never told him that she loved him, but the ex-Turk could tell that she did.  It was evident in the eyes that at first were bright and sparkly, but had steadily gotten duller and duller as time went by, only to be ignited when she was with him.  

Now they'd been living together for quite some time and even though they weren't officially 'together', since becoming Yuffie's lover Reno hadn't gone to the usual prostitute haunts he normally frequented.  Maybe it was out of respect for the chit or maybe it was penance for what he was turning her into.

The fiery ex-Turk patted the bed beside him, looking expectantly at the swaying ninja.  She knew the drill even when she was stoned out of her face.  Yuffie fell onto the bed and stumbled forward, mumbling something about being able to see every fibre of the bed.  This was standard talk for someone who was drowning in feathers, so Reno just ignored her words and set about starting the pleasant job of removing all her clothes whilst she ranted.  

As the two moved beneath the covers, the sun's final rays sank beneath the horizon, leaving only darkness.

~

"Fuck," groaned Reno as the morning light invaded his sleep.  Muttering incoherent curses, the ex-Turk forced himself to sit up and prepare for the day ahead.  He tumbled out of bed, catching a glimpse of the clock as he went by.  He frowned as he saw the time, wondering if the drink had finally got to his brain cells.  

It read 11:34.

Shocked that he had overslept, the fiery man pushed himself up from the floor so he could wake his partner up.  They were supposed to be out of the hotel by midday and Reno knew that Yuffie liked having a little time to make herself presentable.  

The said person, however, was nowhere to be seen.  With flame brows furrowing again, he clambered onto the bed and patted the lumpy duvet gently, just in case the small ninja had somehow gotten lost in there.  Unable to accept that she wasn't there, his gentle pats soon grew to frustrated punches and rounded off with an irrepressible scream of rage.  

She was gone and there was nothing he could do about it.

Trying to suppress the fury boiling up inside, Reno decided to calm down and get the little possessions he had brought with him together so he could leave before the hotelkeeper came up and demanded more money.  While he was gathering his toothbrush, he told himself that he didn't care that she had run off.  He didn't care if she was sick of the life he had made her live.  He didn't care if she didn't love him anymore.

After all, it wasn't as if he had fallen in love with her.  

Cursing himself for letting this mere slip of a girl getting to him in this way, the ex-Turk stalked back into the bedroom and looked around, just to make sure that he hadn't let anything behind.  Inevitably his eye landed on a crisp piece of paper which, on closer inspection, turned out to be a note from Yuffie.

                  _ Reno_, it read, __

_                       I can't do this anymore.  I'm sorry.  Please don't worry about me – I'm going to see an old friend of mine.  I hope you find what you're looking for._

_                                                 Yuffie._

Water stains scarred the paper.  She had been crying while writing this.  Crying because of him.  

Close to tears himself, Reno screwed up the piece of paper and held onto it tightly, not able to think.  He stayed there for perhaps five minutes before he stirred, telling himself to get over her.  She'd obviously gotten over him, else she wouldn't have run away.  Sighing uncharacteristically, the red head rose, picking up the bag containing his clothes and sleeping equipment as he descended and strode out of the door, preparing himself to face the hard, cold world without the company of his little ninja.

~

Thank you **so** much to the people who reviewed this story!  It made me squee a lot.  In fact, I squeed so much that I eventually coughed up a second chapter (!) which is an achievement for me because I usually start fics and never finish them.  This particular fic isn't going to be too long – I think I may finish it in the next two chapters – but I think I have the plot in my head, so with luck I'll actually get around to writing the rest of it later.  Thank you for being so patient.  

~sachiie


End file.
